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"Whilst the language of Symphony no.3 is bold and exuberant, the ideas are again highly personal and focus on the struggle of the individual to create and overcome obstacles."

Composer Andrew Schultz

Commissioned for the Centenary of Canberra in 2013, the symphony as presented here is in reality two pieces; a choral piece called Three Architects and an orchestral piece, Symphony no. 3 "Century".

“The texts provide a starting place for the comprehension of the work. In the choral pieces we hear the idealism of the architects, a compassion for society and the common man, and the desire to create something great, something extraordinary, for the new capital city of Australia. The orchestral movements take the story further. Here we can imagine the space and grandeur of the landscape, and the natural sounds of the Australian bush, often harsh, bright, and unforgiving. Across the three orchestral movements the themes of ‘youth and idealism,' ‘struggle and the creative process,' and ‘reality and compromise’ are explored.” (Nicole Saintilan, writing in the education resource kit for the Symphony.)

During the Centenary of Canberra celebrations the two pieces were performed as one, with their movements interspersed. It is this version of the symphony that is presented here, recorded in-studio by ABC Classic FM during final rehearsals for the work's premiere.

A flourish of the bell-tree introduces the children's choir in starry-eyed statement of the twin goals of order and beauty. The bell tree returns and the voices end in a chord of mysterious anticipation.

The first orchestral movement "Struggle" begins with a sense of urgency - almost a call to arms comprised of dramatic brass chords and angular string gestures, punctuated by the timpani drums. The drama gives way to a yearning duet of clarinet and strings. The movement develops through the interaction of these two contrasting the themes.

The second and briefest orchestral movement "Dream" begins very gradually. The opening note sits underneath the second choral movement, the music seeming to emerge from the seed of architect Louis Sullivan's words. The music of the movement uncurls in a series of slowly rising phrases.

The third and final orchestral movement "Create" opens with the call of trumpets and violins in unison, the theme taken up by the rest of the orchestra. After four minutes, a single oboe note and low bassoon and brass chords set the scene for a darker version of this triumphal theme. Over six minutes the music finds its way back to the initial triumphal music. Then piccolo and marimba introduce an interlude of almost circus-like musical play, subsiding before the final return of triumph in the form of pulsing strings and the brass in circling variations of the theme like a peel of bells leading to the final triumphant orchestral chords.

Key influences/context: Schultz's 3rd Symphony was commissioned for the Centenary of Canberra in 2013, responding to themes surrounding the founding ideals and design of the city. Canberra, Australia's capital, was built to the designs of the American utopian modernist architectural partnership (and married couple) Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin. This Centenary of Canberra commission was composed by Andrew Schultz for the Canberra Symphony Orchestra and Centenary Choir.

Further Reading

Composer’s original program note: “The symphony is an enigmatic but critical form in Western music. On the one hand, it has an austerity of means and a set of specific conventions that make it part of a public dialogue between a composer and the traditions of the musical world. On the other hand, it is an intensely personal form in which the expression of ideas and experiences that are utterly intimate to the composer can be presented in musical form.

My journey with the symphony began with a large three movement choral symphony (Symphony no. 1 "In tempore stellae" 1998), progressed to a shorter, one movement work (Symphony no. 2 "Ghosts of reason" 2008) and has led me to this large-scale work (Symphony no. 3 "Century" 2012). Whilst the language of this recent work is bold and exuberant the ideas are again highly personal and focus on the struggle of the individual to create and overcome obstacles. By this I mean both external obstacles to overcome and the personal ambition to create clarity and beauty — to find the face in the stone even though it seems perpetually to slip from grasp. A quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Journal sat on my note pad as I wrote the work: 'Beauty can never be clutched: in persons and in nature is equally inaccessible.’

The texts for the three choral movements are, for movements one and two, those of the two Chicago architects who most inspired Griffin’s design and approach — Daniel Burnham and Louis Sullivan. For the third movement the words are those of Walter Burley Griffin, from his inspired original Canberra plan submission. Although they are 100 or more years old, each text has a very pointed and direct message for the present. They are real clarion calls about what is possible in Australia.”

Classic Australia editor comments: Andrew Schultz is a composer with a penchant for large-scale works on significant Australian social and cultural themes. Over the years his passion for communication has led him to pursue increasingly direct, emotional musical expression. The texts Schultz chose for this Canberra centenary commission remind us of the passion and conviction that went into the planning of Australia's capital city.